Comments on: A hint of vanilla

By: bergere

bergere — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 17:31:05 +0000

I’m a former library worker, too. We used to have a room a long way from the collections to store our “book sale” books; it reeked of six kinds of mold and mildew.

By: perfumegeek

perfumegeek — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:33:08 +0000

Oh yeah…totally. I’m an analytical chemist, quite tempted to inject a sample of OJ Ormonde Woman into one of our instruments LOL. What a complex scent.

By: Marsha

Marsha — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 00:21:31 +0000

Sad mildewy book smell. Very bad. I used to see those donations all the time. We usually let them sit in their box for a few days, and then spirit them off to some dumpster FAR away from the library. To many people would get upset if they knew we threw away books. No matter how bug-infested.

But the decaying smell of leather, glue, and paper is what makes for a beautiful fragrance. So… decay = good fragrance?

By: AnnS

AnnS — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 23:29:52 +0000

Nina – I never realized that until you said it. Yes, indeed, Mitsouko is a lovely old wood and leather study with lots and lots of parchment volumes….

By: AnnS

AnnS — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 23:27:56 +0000

Yes, howdy, that’s me. I live in a world of old and new materials everyday! I love the smell of old books too. But thankfully my library for the most part doesn’t have that smell. Unfortunately, once your books get to that lovely smell, they are on a sad downward trajectory. One of the reasons old books smell so wonderful as they age is because of all the natural ingredients in them that are missing from modern books: leather, book glue (normally made from some animal glue), natural paper (wood or cotton), and older perhaps non-chemical inks.

I’m going to get up on my soap box now… Musty smells (eg mildew) should NEVER be tolerated on books or other paper materials. It is the kiss of death and can actually infect volumes shelved nearby. There should be no mercy for books with mildew. If you own something with mildew that is very important, it should be isolated from other books. I can tell you everyday the sad book donations that come into my library that reek of must, mildew, and cig/cigar smoke. Anyone who lets books get that bad, doesn’t really care about them. …. but I digress.

And I agree totally with Nina above that Mitsouko smells like old books. I never realized that until she said it. Lovely. At L’Air de Desert Marocain also reminds me of book smell.

And, btw, for all the Portlanders out there: the best used book store ever with the best old book smell was the Great Northern Book Store in NW Portland. RIP. What a great store.

By: Robin

Robin — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 21:38:50 +0000

Let us know if it says something interesting (or interesting to perfumistas, I mean)

By: Rick

Rick — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 20:13:23 +0000

Turin was probably referring to Patchouli 24, by Annick Ménardo, who also created Bulgari Black which has its own woody-vanilla scent.

When I was a graduate student, I used to study in old library stacks, the more obscure the better so I wasn’t distracted from my work (I’d still pick up things and waste time reading things like the 1938 volume of some professional whaler’s journal whose ads had great b&w graphics). I loved that old book/musty attic smell, and when I came across it in Patchouli 24, I had to buy a bottle. It’s turned into one of my favorite fragrances.

By: Haunani

Haunani — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 18:13:52 +0000

Add me to this camp. I don’t like being in antique stores or used book stores. That old, musty smell along with the clutter is depressing to me. It’s interesting to me that those places hold appeal for so many people!

By: Haunani

Haunani — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 18:11:27 +0000

Ooh, another reason I need to try that one!

By: perfumegeek

perfumegeek — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 16:44:24 +0000

Hmmm, I might have to download the journal article, if the university where I work has the Analytical Chemistry subscription. I’m curious about their methodology.